The narrative section of the Application includes nine items. Each item has questions associated with it that you must answer.
You addressed several of the Narrative items when you completed the Concept Paper. You can review and update those items as needed. Other Narrative items are new and must be completed for the first time. The following table lists which items were addressed in the Concept Paper.
|
Narrative Item |
In Concept Paper |
|
Executive Summary |
Yes |
|
Summary of Accomplishments |
No |
|
Need |
Yes |
|
Strengthening Communities |
Yes |
|
Recruitment and Development |
No |
|
VISTA Assignment |
No |
|
Project Management |
No |
|
Organizational Capacity |
Yes |
|
Other |
No |
Be sure to:
Type in the fields, single-spaced.
Type both the question and answer. Use the same headings and numbering provided below.
Include activities for the entire project period for which you are requesting resources.
Enter information in each of the narrative fields in eGrants. To enter information into the field, click view/edit narrative next to the corresponding narrative item and type into the fields that appear.
You may wish to first answer questions in a word processing document and then later paste them into the eGrants fields. This provides you with an offline, backup record. Avoid using special formatting or tables because eGrants does not accommodate them.
Provide a brief description of the proposed project, including the project goal(s) as well as an overview of the activities the requested VISTAs and Leaders will perform.
How many VISTAs and VISTA Leaders are you requesting?
What is the estimated length of time required to complete the project?
Briefly describe your organization’s mission, history, and the beneficiaries of your organization’s programs.
First time applicants: please leave blank. Current VISTA sponsoring organizations seeking project renewal are required to complete this section.
Provide a brief description of the project’s progress to date.
State in measurable and quantifiable terms the specific poverty-related need(s) identified by the community(ies) that the VISTA project will address, including the number of low-income people directly affected by the problem(s). If your program will operate at multiple sites, demonstrate a need in each community you propose to serve.
Hint:
How did you identify the need and where is it documented? Use current and local statistical data, citing the source, to substantiate the problem.
Example:
An applicant proposing to develop a child care program for families transitioning from welfare to work would explain the scope of the child care shortage in their county including statistical references to the number of families transitioning from welfare to work, the average cost of child care in the county, and other data to illustrate the need to be addressed. The applicant also would describe the cause of the child care shortage, how long it has persisted, and the long-term effects it may have on the low-income families in the county.
Describe current activities your organization and other organizations are undertaking to address the problems identified in your need statement. Describe how the proposed project will complement this work.
Describe how the new infrastructure or organizational capacity created by your project will address the needs of the community and bring individuals and, ultimately, the community out of poverty.
Example:
An applicant proposing to develop a child care program for families transitioning from welfare to work might explain how the child care program will allow current and former welfare recipients to pursue education, job training and employment opportunities, resulting in financial asset development gains that move affected families out of poverty.
How will you involve the community to ensure the sustainability of the proposed project?
Hint:
One of the primary purposes of VISTA is to ensure sustainable solutions to problems facing low-income communities. Address how you will ensure that the proposed project, and its results, continues upon completion of the project and withdrawal of VISTA support.
Describe in specific terms how your organization will recruit qualified VISTA(s) and Leader(s) to serve on this project. What challenges do you anticipate in recruiting qualified individuals?
Hint:
Briefly describe the qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, abilities) that you believe are necessary for a member to be successful in the project. Describe local media markets, what media outreach will be conducted, and other techniques you will use to recruit candidates, such as searching outside the local area. You may wish to describe the methods by which current employees were recruited or any other previous recruiting experience.
Describe the service-related transportation needs of the VISTA(s) and Leader(s) and your plans for meeting those needs.
Hint:
Include geographic area in which members will have to travel, the estimated cost, and how you will reimburse members for their service-related transportation expenses.
Briefly describe plans for orienting VISTA(s) and Leader(s) to your organization and the community. Describe any training opportunities and technical assistance that will be available to members throughout their service.
Hint:
Orientation should occur during the first month of a VISTA’s assignment. Training opportunities may occur throughout the course of a member’s term of service. Address how you will ensure a high-quality experience.
Describe the accessibility of services provided to members of the community with disabilities. Is your organization able to accommodate VISTAs and Leaders with disabilities?
Hint:
Federal law requires that VISTA sponsoring organizations make reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of qualified persons with disabilities wishing to serve as VISTAs. Indicate any factors the Corporation should be aware of when assigning members with disabilities to this project, such as availability of transportation and housing, accessibility of facilities, etc.
Summary of Activities (To be submitted with the project application)
Provide a summary of the general tasks and activities VISTA(s) and Leader(s) will perform to implement the proposed project. These tasks and activities should logically relate to the project goals you propose in the Project Plan.
VISTA Assignment Description (VAD) (To be submitted by approved sponsors only)
The VAD is completed only by those project applicants who are later approved to be a VISTA project sponsor. The VAD is used by sponsors to recruit and inform potential members about specific assignments. It is also used to direct a member assigned to the project in the performance of his or her service and provide a basis for individual performance evaluation.
The VAD is separate and distinct in format and purpose from the summary of activities in the previous question or the details in the Project Plan, which are not specific to any one assignment. For each unique VISTA and Leader assignment, describe the specific goals required of the member. Note that more than one member may receive the same VAD, depending on the design of the project.
For guidance on how to develop an effective VAD, please contact your Corporation State Office.
Hint:
When completing this section, keep in mind that VISTAs and Leaders fulfill a one-year, full-time term of service. Individuals may serve up to three terms of service, at the discretion of the Corporation.
Describe how you will supervise the project and provide daily supervision of VISTAs and Leaders. Specify if supervision will be a full-time or part-time responsibility.
If individual sites other than your organization will host/supervise members, please list the names of those organizations and describe the structure of their relationship to your organization. Also, list the names and titles of the site supervisors. What are your plans for providing programmatic orientation, and training and technical assistance to your service sites?
Are 51 percent or more of the persons on your board of directors’ members of the low-income community? If not, please describe how your agency has developed a separate advisory group for the VISTA project that consists of members or representatives of the low-income community served by the proposed project.
Hint:
Address the involvement of low-income individuals in the development and implementation of the proposed project.
Briefly describe your plans for evaluating progress towards achieving your project’s anticipated goal(s) and milestones. What information and data will you use to demonstrate the concrete impacts of the project?
How, if at all, will you collaborate with other national service programs (Senior Corps, Learn & Serve America, etc.) in order to support the proposed project?
Address your organization’s capacity to manage the proposed project including previous experience working with community volunteers and/or national service participants. Was your organization previously assigned VISTAs? If so, specify the sponsoring organization (if different from your own), years and number of members. Briefly describe how the proposed service activity differs from what your members did previously. Also, if your agency is currently receiving other CNCS resources, specify which program and the number of members.
What resources are available to support the project? Identify the names of partner organizations. Is your organization able to contribute financially for all or some of costs related to VISTA(s) and Leader(s)? Please indicate if you are able to support a cost-share member (approximately $10,000-12,000/year).
Please leave blank unless otherwise instructed.